Handgun to rifle conversion assembly

ABSTRACT

An assembly for converting a handgun to a rifle wherein an elongated rifle barrel having locking means thereon which is identical to the locking means on the handgun barrel is substituted within the handgun in place of the conventional short handgun barrel. The handgrip cover plates are removed from the handgun and the handgun with the rifle barrel inserted therein is placed between a pair of handgrip engaging plates which form a portion of a rifle stock. The handgrip cover plates are placed on the outer faces of the handgrip engaging plates and a pair of securing members are inserted through aligned apertures in the handgrip cover plates, the handgrip engaging plates and the handgrip to secure the handgun within the rifle stock. A handrest stock member extends forwardly of the handgrip engaging plates and is secured to one of the plates by means of a connecting member having a cutout portion which permits access to the trigger when in the assembled condition. A rod-like member extends rearwardly of and is secured to a U-shaped connecting member which is formed integrally with the handgrip engaging plates. A shoulder plate is secured to the terminal end of the rod-like member.

United States Patent Coon [451 Aug. 22, 1972 [54] HANDGUN TO RIFLECONVERSION ASSEMBLY [72] Inventor: John M, Coon, Rt. #2, Petersburg,

Tenn. 37144 22 Filed: Aug. 29, 1969 21 Appl.No.: 862,600

52 US. Cl ..42/77, 42/72 51 1m. 01 ..F4lc 21/00, F41C 23/00 [58] Fieldof Search ..42 77, 72

[56] References Cited UNITED sTATEs PATENTS 1,276,572 8/1918 Rogers,..42/72 2,090,657 8/1937 Williams ..42/77 2,324,125 7/1943 Van Horn etal. ..42/72 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,228,795 3/1960 France..42/77 Primary Examiner-Benjamin A. Borchelt Assistant ExaminerC. T.Jordan AttorneyNewton, Hopkins & Ormsby [57] ABSTRACT An assembly forconverting a handgun to a rifle wherein an elongated rifle barrel havinglocking means thereon which is identical to the locking means on thehandgun barrel is substituted within the handgun in place of theconventional short handgun barrel. The handgrip cover plates are removedfrom the handgun and the handgun with the rifle barrel inserted thereinis placed between a pair of handgrip engaging plates which form aportion of a rifle stock. The handgrip cover plates are placed on theouter faces of the handgrip engaging plates and a pair of securingmembers are inserted through aligned apertures in the handgrip coverplates, the handgrip engaging plates and the handgrip to secure thehandgun within the rifle stock. A handrest stock member extendsforwardly of the handgrip engaging plates and is secured to one of theplates by means of a connecting member having a cutout portion whichpermits access to the trigger when in the assembled condition. A rodlikemember extends rearwardly of and is secured to a U-shaped connectingmember which is formed integrally with the handgrip engaging plates. Ashoulder plate is secured to the terminal end of the rod-like member.

6 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEU I 1972 3. 685, 194

SHEET 1 0F 2 INVENTOR JOHN M. COON ATTORNEYS PATENTED I97? 3.685.194

sum 2 or 2 INVENTOR JOHN M. COON ATTORNEYS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates generally to firearms and more pargcularly to anassembly for converting a handgun to an e.

The basic structural and functional characteristics of a handgun and arifle are extremely diverse, and where one type of firearm is completelysatisfactory for a particular purpose, the other may not be suitable atall. It is therefore often desirable, although not entirely practical,to have both a handgun and a rifle accessible at the same time such thatthe person utilizing the firearms may choose that firearm which is mostsuitable for the purpose. Carrying a separate handgun and rifle is notalways a practical solution to the problem, since the weight, bulk andexpense of two separate firearms creates additional problems. It has,therefore, become increasingly desirable to have a single firearm whichmay be converted from a handgun to a rifle without substantiallyincreasing the weight, bulk, or expense of the firearm. Assemblies forconverting a handgun into a rifle have been utilized in the past, andalthough acceptable for many purposes, such devices have not been whollysatisfactory in that they are difficult to assemble, require manydifferent parts, substantially increase the weight of the handgun, havebeen generally bulky in nature, and are relatively expensive. Further,in order to sell a handgun to rifle conversion kit without compliancewith recent gun legislation, means must be provided for precluding theuse of the handgun in a rifle assembly with its conventional shortbarrel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present inventionis to provide a new and improved assembly for converting a handgun to arifle which is inexpensive to manufacture, durable in structure,relatively lightweight, and easy to install.

Another object of this invention is to provide an assembly forconverting a handgun to a rifle which utilizes all of the components ofthe handgun with the exception of the barrel.

A further object of the instant invention is to provide an assembly forconverting a handgun to a rifle which is relatively easy to installwithout the use of special tools or implements.

A further object of the invention is to provide an assembly forconverting a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun to a rifle whichincludes means for preventing the use of the handgun without placing abarrel of sufficient length to qualify as a rifle therein.

A still further object of the instant invention is to provide anassembly for converting a .45 caliber semiautomatic handgun to a riflewhich is easy to convert, inexpensive to manufacture, well balanced, andrelatively lightweight.

Briefly, in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of thisinvention, the foregoing and other objects are obtained by providing anassembly for converting a handgun to a rifle wherein the handgun is ofconventional design having a relatively short removable barrel withlocking means thereon and removable handgrip cover plates, the assemblyhaving a rifle barrel of substantially greater length than therelatively short removable barrel of the handgun, wherein the riflebarrel has locking means identical in size and shape to the handgunbarrel locking means for receipt within the handgun, and a rifle stockfor supporting the handgun and the rifle barrel with the rifle barrellocked within the handgun in place of the relatively short barrel.

Many other advantages and objects of the present invention will becomereadily apparent as the following detailed description of the inventionunfolds when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective viewof the handgun and conversion assembly; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the handgun assembled as a rifle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing,wherein like reference characters designate identical or correspondingparts throughout the several views, and more particularly to FIG. 1,whereon a conventional .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun is indicatedgenerally by the numeral 10, with a pair of handgrip cover plates 12removed therefrom. When assembling the handgun 10 as a rifle, theconventional barrel is removed therefrom and an elongated rifle barrel14 is substituted within the handgun 10 in place thereof. The barrel 14has a locking means such as swivel lug 16 and grooves 18 which are ofthe same size and shape as the locking means utilized on theconventional .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun barrel.

The handgun 10 with the rifle barrel 14 installed therein and thehandgrip cover plates 12 removed therefrom, is placed between a pair ofhandgrip engaging plates 20 and 22. A generally U-shaped member 24 isformed integrally with plates 20 and 22 so as to interconnect the lowerrearward portions thereof for holding the plates 20 and 22 in a spacedparallel relationship a distance substantially equal to the thickness ofthe handgrip 26 of the handgun. Each of the plates 20 and 22 has a pairof apertures 28 therein which are of the same size and in alignment withthe conventional apertures 30 in the handgrip 26 and the apertures 32 inthe handgrip cover plates 12. With the handgrip 26 between handgripengaging plates 20 and 22, and with handgrip cover plates 12 on theouter faces of plates 20 and 22, the apertures 28, 30 and 32 are alignedsuch that conventional securing members such as screws may be insertedtherethrough for securing the handgun 10 within the rifle stock member.

A generally U-shaped handgrip stock member 34 is provided forwardly ofthe handgrip engaging plates 20 and 22 so as to provide support forrifle barrel 14 within a groove 35 and to further provide a handgrip forthe rifle assembly. I-Iandgrip 34 is secured to a plate-like member 36by conventional securing means such as screws 38. The member 36 isformed integrally with plate member 20 extending forwardly therefrom,and has a cutout portion 39 on the lower portion thereof for providingaccess to the trigger 40 and trigger guard 42 of the handgun l0.

A safety mechanism is provided at the rearmost end of the groove 35 inthe handgrip stock member 34 for precluding the use of the handgun 10without the barrel 14 having a length greater than the barrel normallyassociated with the handgun 10. The safety mechanism 100 comprises aformed spring steel member having an upwardly stepped portion 101 formedtherein and a locking extension 102 projecting rearwardly therefrom asshown in FIG. 1. The locking extension 102 is of such length that whenthe handgun is slipped forwardly into position in the stock member, thelocking extension 102 will cause the conventional cocking assembly C ofthe handgun 10 to be moved rearwardly by engaging the lower most portionof the forward end of the cocking assembly C. This prevents the handgun10 from being fired with the short barrel since the cocking assembly Cwill not go far enough forward to allow the hammer of the handgun 10 tooperate. On the other hand, when the barrel 14 having a length greaterthan the conventional barrel of the handgun 10 is placed therein and itis positioned in a stock member 34, the barrel l4 engaged the steppedportion 101 in the safety mechanism 100 and causes the stop extension102 to be deflected downwardly so that it will not engage the forwardend of the cocking assembly C. Therefore, when someone attempts to use ashort barrel in the handgun 10 with the invention, it cannot beoperated, but when someone uses the longer barrel 14 therein, it willoperate in the manner set forth herein.

Extending rearwardly form the U-shaped connecting member 24 is arod-like member 44 which is secured thereto by conventional means suchas welding. On the rearward terminal portion of rod member 44 is ashoulder rest plate 46 secured thereto by conventional means such aswelding. Rod 44 could be hinged to member 24 to provide a foldingassembly if so desired.

As shown in the assembled position in FIG. 2, the rifle assemblyprovides a lightweight well-balanced device which is easily assembledand relatively inexpensive to manufacture. The basic components of the.45 caliber semi-automatic handgun have not been substantially altered,in that only the barrel has been replaced by a barrel of similarconstruction and ex tended length and the handgrip covers have beenremoved from the handgun and installed on the stock assembly.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations maybe made in the embodiment chosen for the purpose of illustrating thepresent invention, without departing from the scope thereof, as definedby the appended claims.

What is claimed as invention:

1. An assembly for converting a handgun to a rifle wherein said handgunis of conventional design having a handgrip and a relatively shortremovable barrel with a locking means thereon and removable handgripcover plates, said assembly comprising:

a rifle barrel of substantially greater length than said relativelyshort removable barrel of said handgun, said rifle barrel having lockingmeans thereon for receipt within said handgun wherein said rifle barrellocking means is identical in size and shape to said handgun barrellocking means, and

a rifle stock for supporting said handgun and said rifle barrel withsaid rifle barrel locked within said handgun in place of said relativelyshort barrel, said rifle stock comprising a pair of substantiallyparallel handgrip engaging plates spaced a distance substantially equalto the width of said handgrip when said cover plates are removedtherefrom, a generally U-shaped member formed integrally with andextending rearwardly of said handgrip engaging plates,

an elongated rod secured to and extending rearwardly of the apex of saidgenerally U-shaped member,

a shoulder rest plate secured to the rearward terminal portion of saidelongated rod,

21 hand rest stock member for supporting a portion of said rifle barrel,and

means for securing said hand rest stock member to at least one of saidhandgrip engaging plates.

2. An assembly for converting a handgun to a rifle according to claim 1wherein:

said handgrip engaging plates are generally conforming in shape to saidhandgrip cover plates,

apertures in said handgrip engaging plates and aligned apertures in saidhandgrip and cover plates whereby said handgun is secured to said riflestock by inserting said handgrip between said engaging plates with saidcover plates on the outer surfaces of said engaging plates and providingsecuring members through said aligned apertures.

3. An assembly for converting a handgun to a rifle according to claim 2wherein said means for securing said handrest stock member to at leastone of said handgrip engaging plates comprises a relatively flat memberformed integrally with said handgrip engaging plate and having a portiondefined thereon for providing access to the trigger of said handgun whenin assembled condition.

4. An assembly for converting a handgun to a rifle according to claim 3wherein said handgun is a conventional .45 caliber semi-automaticpistol.

5. An assembly for converting a handgun to a rifle wherein said handgunis of conventional design having a relatively short removable barrelwith a locking means thereon and removable handgrip cover plates, saidassembly comprising:

a rifle barrel of substantially greater length than said relativelyshort barrel of said handgun, said rifle barrel having locking meansthereon for receipt within said handgun wherein said rifle barrellocking means is identical in size and shape to said handgun barrellocking means, and

a rifle stock for supporting said handgun and said rifle barrel withsaid rifle barrel locked within said handgun in place of said relativelyshort barrel,

said assembly further including means for precluding the firing of saidhandgun when positioned in said assembly when said barrel has a lengthsubstantially equal to that of the relatively short removable barrelnormally associated with said handgun, said means being constructed andarranged to be rendered inoperative when said barrel has a lengthsubstantially greater than the relatively short removable barrelnormally associated with said handgun.

6. An assembly for converting a handgun to a rifle wherein said handgunincludes a cocking device and has a relatively short removable barrelwith a locking means thereon and wherein a rifle barrel substantiallylonger than said first mentioned barrel is provided, said rifle barrelhaving a locking means and adapted to be received in the handgun inplace of said first mentioned barrel, said assembly comprising means forprecluding firing of said handgun, including a resilient member 5 havinga stepped portion and a locking extension, said locking extensionconstructed and arranged to engage said cocking device in its normalposition and displac-

1. An assembly for converting a handgun to a rifle wherein said handgunis of conventional design having a handgrip and a relatively shortremovable barrel with a locking means thereon and removable handgripcover plates, said assembly comprising: a rifle barrel of substantiallygreater length than said relatively short removable barrel of saidhandgun, said rifle barrel having locking means thereon for receiptwithin said handgun wherein said rifle barrel locking means is identicalin size and shape to said handgun barrel locking means, and a riflestock for supporting said handgun and said rifle barrel with said riflebarrel locked within said handgun in place of said relatively shortbarrel, said rifle stock comprising a pair of substantially parallelhandgrip engaging plates spaced a distance substantially equal to thewidth of said handgrip when said cover plates are removed therefrom, agenerally Ushaped member formed integrally with and extending rearwardlyof said handgrip engaging plates, an elongated rod secured to andextending rearwardly of the apex of said generally U-shaped member, ashoulder rest plate secured to the rearward terminal portion of saidelongated rod, a hand rest stock member for supporting a portion of saidrifle barrel, and means for securing said hand rest stock member to atleast one of said handgrip engaging plates.
 2. An assembly forconverting a handgun to a rifle accOrding to claim 1 wherein: saidhandgrip engaging plates are generally conforming in shape to saidhandgrip cover plates, apertures in said handgrip engaging plates andaligned apertures in said handgrip and cover plates whereby said handgunis secured to said rifle stock by inserting said handgrip between saidengaging plates with said cover plates on the outer surfaces of saidengaging plates and providing securing members through said alignedapertures.
 3. An assembly for converting a handgun to a rifle accordingto claim 2 wherein said means for securing said handrest stock member toat least one of said handgrip engaging plates comprises a relativelyflat member formed integrally with said handgrip engaging plate andhaving a portion defined thereon for providing access to the trigger ofsaid handgun when in assembled condition.
 4. An assembly for convertinga handgun to a rifle according to claim 3 wherein said handgun is aconventional .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol.
 5. An assembly forconverting a handgun to a rifle wherein said handgun is of conventionaldesign having a relatively short removable barrel with a locking meansthereon and removable handgrip cover plates, said assembly comprising: arifle barrel of substantially greater length than said relatively shortbarrel of said handgun, said rifle barrel having locking means thereonfor receipt within said handgun wherein said rifle barrel locking meansis identical in size and shape to said handgun barrel locking means, anda rifle stock for supporting said handgun and said rifle barrel withsaid rifle barrel locked within said handgun in place of said relativelyshort barrel, said assembly further including means for precluding thefiring of said handgun when positioned in said assembly when said barrelhas a length substantially equal to that of the relatively shortremovable barrel normally associated with said handgun, said means beingconstructed and arranged to be rendered inoperative when said barrel hasa length substantially greater than the relatively short removablebarrel normally associated with said handgun.
 6. An assembly forconverting a handgun to a rifle wherein said handgun includes a cockingdevice and has a relatively short removable barrel with a locking meansthereon and wherein a rifle barrel substantially longer than said firstmentioned barrel is provided, said rifle barrel having a locking meansand adapted to be received in the handgun in place of said firstmentioned barrel, said assembly comprising means for precluding firingof said handgun, including a resilient member having a stepped portionand a locking extension, said locking extension constructed and arrangedto engage said cocking device in its normal position and displacing saidcocking device from its forwardmost firing position for precluding thefiring of said handgun, and said stepped portion constructed andarranged to be engaged by said rifle barrel for moving said lockingextension out of engagement with said cocking device to permit firing ofsaid handgun.